Kentucky's record in College GameDay games

ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Lawrence on Saturday for Kentucky vs. Kansas, its first time back on a college campus since the 2020 season. The pregame show will air live from Allen Fieldhouse at 11 a.m. on ESPN, with fans invited to pack the Phog to hear Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, LaPhonso Ellis, and Seth Greenberg break down the Cats vs. the Jayhawks and the other big games of the day.

This will be Kentucky’s 20th College GameDay appearance, Kansas’ 23rd. It’s the fourth time the show will originate from a Kentucky-Kansas matchup, with the Jayhawks holding the 2-1 edge. If you go past just this series, Kentucky’s record in College GameDay games isn’t great. The Cats are 8-11 overall, 3-7 on the road. Meanwhile, Kansas is 16-6 in College GameDay games, 8-1 when the show is in Lawrence. Gulp.

There are many stats that are much more relevant to Saturday’s game than this one, a simple indicator that winning a big game in a hostile road environment is hard, but as we count down the hours ’til tip-off, here’s a look back at Kentucky’s record when College GameDay is in the house.

Kentucky Basketball in College GameDay Games

Date	Game	Site	Result
2/19/2005	Mississippi State at No. 5 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	W, 94-78
2/4/2006	Kentucky at No. 8 Florida	Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, FL)	L, 95-80
2/10/2007	No. 1 Florida at No. 18 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	L, 64-61
1/19/2008	Kentucky at Florida	Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, FL)	L, 81-70
2/13/2010	No. 12 Tennessee at No. 2 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	W, 73-62
2/5/2011	No. 11 Kentucky at No. 23 Florida	Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, FL)	L, 70-68
2/11/2012	No. 1 Kentucky at Vanderbilt	Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, TN)	W, 69-63
2/23/2013	Missouri at Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	W, 90-83
2/15/2014	No. 3 Florida at No. 14 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	L, 69-59
2/7/2015	No. 1 Kentucky at Florida	Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, FL)	W, 68-61
1/30/2016	No. 20 Kentucky at No. 4 Kansas	Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, KS)	L, 90-84
2/20/2016	No. 14 Kentucky at Texas A&M	Reed Arena (College Station, TX)	L, 79-77
1/28/2017	No. 2 Kansas at No. 4 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	L, 79-73
2/4/2017	No. 8 Kentucky at No. 24 Florida	Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, FL)	L, 88-66
1/20/2018	Florida at No. 18 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	L, 66-64
1/27/2018	Kentucky at No. 7 West Virginia	WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, WV)	W, 83-76
1/26/2019	No. 9 Kansas at No. 8 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	W, 71-63
2/16/2019	No. 1 Tennessee at No. 5 Kentucky	Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)	W, 86-69
2/1/2020	No. 13 Kentucky at No. 17 Auburn	Auburn Arena (Auburn, AL)	L, 75-66

As you can see, the show really loves the Florida-Kentucky series. Remember when that was a huge thing? Also, remember when the Harlem Shake was a huge thing? That happened on College GameDay at Rupp?

Kentucky’s lead over Kansas in all-time wins

Kentucky still leads Kansas in the overall series, 23-10, but when you look at the Calipari Era, it’s tied 4-4. The Cats actually have the edge at the Phog, with seven wins to five losses. Of course, there is also the matter of all-time wins. Kentucky still holds a slim lead over the Jayhawks, 2,343 to 2,340. That means Saturday’s game will NOT be for the No. 1 spot. Thank goodness for that, but the gap has definitely narrowed.

SCHOOL	WINS	LOSSES
1. Kentucky	2,343	732
2. Kansas	2,340	873
3. North Carolina	2,308	835
4. Duke	2,230	907
5. Temple	1,956	1,113
6. Syracuse	1,949	943
7. UCLA	1,942	876
8. Notre Dame	1,928	1,061
9. St. John’s	1,898	1,063
10. Indiana	1,884	1,081

College GameDay details

If you’re headed to Lawrence and want to make sure the right kind of blue gets into College GameDay, we’ve got the details for you. The show starts at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET but doors will open to Allen Fieldhouse at 8:45 a.m. CT. The General Public entry will be through gate six on the east side of Allen Fieldhouse. Limited mobility and wheelchair access will be through Gate 11 on the south side of the building. Please note that per Douglas County mandate, masks are required inside Allen Fieldhouse. Parking is free and open to the public in the surface lots surrounding Allen Fieldhouse, excluding the emergency vehicle lot (Lot 70) and the signed special reserved spots in Lot 71 south of Allen Fieldhouse.

Tomorrow night, Wendy’s is hosting “Fryday Fanfest at the Phog” to celebrate GameDay being in town. From 5-8 p.m. CT on the Allen Fieldhouse east lawn, there will be free food from a Wendy’s food truck, a live DJ, games, giveaways, and appearances by the KU band, spirit, and mascots. The fanfest will continue on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I’ll be in Lawrence to cover it all, so see you there.